This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Anti-social behaviour strategy welcomed
23/10/2003
An independent report published today shows that
communities, organisations and individuals acrossScotlandhave widely welcomed the Executive's strategy for
tackling anti-social behaviour.
Researchers fromGlasgowUniversityanalysed the responses to this summer's consultation
on the Executive's strategy to tackle anti-social
behaviour. They found that the issue is a serious
problem in local communities and has devastating effects on
the people who live in them.
Communities Minister Margaret Curran said:
"This summer, communities acrossScotlandspoke out as never before, and made clear to
Ministers that anti-social behaviour in its many forms
makes lives a misery, blights neighbourhoods and undermines
our work to renew and regenerate communities.
"This independent analysis of the responses to our
consultation backs up the message we heard in cities, towns
and villages across Scotland - that anti-social behaviour
is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with, that the
Executive was right to make this a key priority,and that there is widespread support for the approach
we are taking. I am particularly pleased that there
was overall support for most of our specific proposals.
"The lessons from the consultation will inform
the development both of our broad anti-social behaviour
strategy and of the specific legislative proposals in
the Bill we intend to publish shortly."
This report presents the findings from an analysis of
the responses received to the Scottish Executive's
proposals to tackle anti-social behaviour, outlined in the
consultation document Putting Our Communities First: A
Strategy for tackling Anti-Social Behaviour. The document
was published in June 2003, with responses invited up
tothe 11th September 2003. The consultation process comprised a number of
elements including:
31 Ministerial visits to
constituencies
39 Ministerial and officials meetings
with key stakeholders
342 written responses to the consultation
document
44 responses to a web-based
questionnaire
Five surveys conducted by individual
MSPs
Consultation events held by a range of
organisations
Over 200 readers' letters to two
newspapers which ran campaigns relating to
anti-social behaviour
The consultation responses revealed that
anti-social behaviour is a serious problem in many
local communities and has devastating effects on the
people who live in them.
The extent of fear, anger and anxiety caused by
anti-social behaviour was particularly apparent in the
meetings with local constituents, individuals' written
responses and the letters to the newspapers.
The work byGlasgowUniversityalso makes clear that most of the specific proposals
that were included in the consultation paper received
overall support from those who responded to the
consultation. Some issues were quite contentious
but only a small number were opposed by the majority of
respondents.
Anti-social behaviour was reported to take many
forms, with the most serious relating to physical
assault, verbal intimidation and harassment, vandalism,
joy riding and the misuse of drugs and alcohol. Many,
although not all, of these incidents were reported to
involve young people. There were also concerns about
graffiti (including racist or otherwise offensive
graffiti), noise nuisance, littering and fly-tipping. A
number of other forms of anti-social behaviour were
also identified.
The constituency meetings, newspaper letters and
MSPs surveys indicated that local communities wished to
see more effective action taken against the
perpetrators of anti-social behaviour and that
offenders should take greater responsibility for their
actions. The proposals outlined by the Scottish
Executive were strongly supported in these elements of
the consultation, including the need to protect the
rights and needs of victims and witnesses. There was
also a widespread desire for a greater police presence
in local communities.